What BrightonSEO does

BrightonSEO, organized by Rough Agenda Ltd (UK) and Rough Agenda USA Ltd, operates the world's largest dedicated search marketing conference series. Founded in 2010 by Kelvin Newman as a casual meetup above a Brighton pub, the company has scaled over 15+ years into a multi-format events platform serving SEO, content, PPC, and analytics practitioners. The core product comprises three live conferences per year — twice-yearly UK events in Brighton (April and October) drawing 11,000+ attendees annually and one annual US edition in San Diego — supplemented by hands-on training workshops, the MeasureFest analytics fringe track, and on-demand video bundles sold post-event. A 20,000-strong global practitioner community, the Internet Marketing Podcast, and active social channels (LinkedIn, Instagram, X, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky) sustain year-round engagement beyond the live events.

The business runs on a ticket-led monetization model with four revenue streams: conference tickets (UK £300–£1,100; US $865–$1,990 across Friend, BFF, and Training bundle tiers), sponsorship and exhibitor packages sold by an in-house Head of Sales, training workshop access bundled with conference passes, and on-demand video bundles (£150–£300). Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the company's website and the ti.to ticketing platform, with automatic volume discounts for group bookings of 4+ and 10+ attendees and a 50% Next Gen student tier. Sponsorship revenue and hotel partner rebates (e.g., $10/room night via San Diego hotel partners) add secondary monetization. The portfolio was broadened in 2024 with the acquisition of Hero Conf, the world's longest-running PPC conference, which now co-locates at both UK and US venues, and the US event is moving to the San Diego Convention Center in 2026 to accommodate growth.

The company operates with a notably lean core team (1–10 employees listed across sales, marketing, conferences, operations, and community/editorial roles) supplemented by extensive outsourced event production and venue partnerships. There is no public evidence of external funding, institutional investment, or public listing — the business appears bootstrapped and founder-controlled. There are no disclosed proprietary technology platforms, no AI/ML capabilities, no patents, and no certifications; the underlying stack relies on ti.to for ticketing, SendOwl for video bundle e-commerce, and standard CMS/email/social infrastructure. Pricing is fully public and consistent across events.

Name

BrightonSEO

Legal name

RoughAgenda Ltd

Website

https://brightonseo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BrightonSEO organizes the world's largest search marketing conference series — twice-yearly Brighton events and an annual San Diego edition — serving 11,000+ attendees and a 20,000-strong global SEO, content, PPC, and analytics practitioner community with live events, training, and on-demand video bundles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Conferences and Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)

Keywords

• Search marketing conferences
• SEO training workshops
• Digital marketing events
• PPC conferences
• Marketing professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Conference Tickets: Primary revenue stream from paid conference tickets. Multiple tier options ranging from free ballot single-day tickets to premium BFF packages with VIP perks. UK events priced in GBP (£300-£1100), US events in USD ($865-$1990).
2. Sponsorship & Exhibitor Packages: Revenue from brand sponsorships and exhibition booth sales at conferences. Sponsors gain access to the search marketing community for lead generation and brand awareness.
3. Training Workshops: Hands-on training courses and workshops offered alongside conferences, providing practical skills development. Training + Conference bundle tickets combine workshop access with conference attendance.
4. Video Bundles: Post-event sale of recorded talk videos. Bundles include all conference talks and fringe event content (Hero Conf, MeasureFest), streamed on-demand for £150-£300. Friend, BFF, and Training tickets include video bundle automatically.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

BrightonSEO organizes and runs large-scale search marketing conferences and associated training courses, held twice yearly in Brighton, UK and once annually in San Diego, US. The company also sells on-demand video bundles of conference talks and operates complementary sub-brands (MeasureFest, Hero Conf) covering paid media and web analytics content.

Product overview

BrightonSEO operates a multi-event conference platform centered on its flagship brightonSEO conferences—the world's largest search marketing events held twice yearly in Brighton, UK and annually in San Diego. The portfolio includes complementary training workshops, on-demand video bundles (with 150+ recorded talks), the MeasureFest analytics track, and the acquired Hero Conf PPC conference. A global community and podcast extend engagement beyond live events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hero Conf: World's longest-running PPC (pay-per-click) conference, acquired by Rough Agenda in 2024. Co-located with brightonSEO events.
• MeasureFest

Products and services

• brightonSEO Conferences The world's largest search marketing conference featuring expert speaker talks, practical training, and networking opportunities. Events run twice yearly in Brighton, UK and once annually in San Diego, US, attracting 11,000+ attendees from 100+ countries and 450+ speakers.
• brightonSEO Training Hands-on training courses and workshops taught by industry practitioners, offered alongside the conferences, providing practical skills that attendees can apply immediately.
• Video Bundle On-demand access to recorded conference talks streamed post-event, including content from brightonSEO, MeasureFest, and Hero Conf fringe events, available as standalone purchases priced at £150-£300.
• MeasureFest A fringe conference track dedicated to web analytics, conversion rate optimisation, and business intelligence, running as a co-located event alongside brightonSEO conferences.
• Hero Conf The world's longest-running PPC (pay-per-click) conference, acquired by Rough Agenda in 2024 and now co-located with brightonSEO events in both UK and San Diego venues.

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Hero ConfcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Hero Conf, the world's longest-running PPC (pay-per-click) conference, was acquired by Rough Agenda in 2024. The co-located events now run together at both UK and US venues, complementing brightonSEO's search focus with dedicated paid marketing content.
• MeasureFestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeasureFest is a fringe conference dedicated to web analytics, conversion rate optimisation and business intelligence. It runs as a track within brightonSEO events, allowing attendees to dip in and out of specialist data content alongside main conference sessions.
• San Diego Convention CentercoreOthersStarting in 2026, brightonSEO and Hero Conf San Diego will move to the San Diego Convention Center (home of Comic-Con International) for the event's fourth edition. The venue shift accommodates rapid growth and increasing attendance.
• Manchester Grand Hyatt San DiegocoreOthersOfficial HQ hotel for brightonSEO San Diego events. Provides discounted attendee rates, early badge collection, exclusive VIP reception access, and serves as central hub for speakers, staff, and attendees. brightonSEO receives $10 rebate per room night booked.
• Hard Rock Hotel San DiegosupportingOthersOfficial partner hotel offering exclusive attendee rates ($299++/night), reduced resort fees, rooftop bar, outdoor pool, and complimentary beach cruiser bike rental. Located steps from the Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter.
• Hilton San Diego Gaslamp QuartersupportingOthersOfficial partner hotel offering exclusive attendee rates ($319++/night) in the historic Gaslamp Quarter. Close to restaurants, nightlife, and the venue.
• Southwest AirlinessupportingOthersOfficial travel partner offering discounted airfares for brightonSEO 2026 attendees. Discount valid for travel September 11-19, 2026 via SWABIZ using company ID 90035864.
• Rough AgendacoreOthersRough Agenda is the parent events company that organizes brightonSEO, Hero Conf, MeasureFest, and other specialist digital marketing events. Founded by Kelvin Newman. UK company (07917764), US entity Rough Agenda USA Ltd (14561660).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Digital Summit: Digital Summit runs a series of regional digital marketing conferences across multiple US cities. It competes with BrightonSEO San Diego for regional marketer attendance and sponsor interest, with a similar multi-vertical digital marketing agenda.
• Social Media Marketing World: Social Media Marketing World is a large digital marketing conference with overlapping attendee personas (in-house marketers, agencies). It is a partial competitor for BrightonSEO's broader digital marketing audience.
• Content Marketing World (Content Marketing Institute): Content Marketing World is the leading conference for content marketers — overlapping meaningfully with BrightonSEO's content marketing track audience and competing for both attendee attention and sponsor spend in the broader digital marketing event space.
• AdWorld Conference: AdWorld Conference focuses on paid advertising and PPC, making it a partial overlap with BrightonSEO's Hero Conf franchise and competing for paid-media specialist attendees and sponsors.

Broad incumbents

• MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum: MarketingProfs is an established B2B marketing education brand running conferences and training for in-house marketers. It overlaps with BrightonSEO's in-house marketing team attendee segment and is a broader incumbent in the marketing education space.

Direct peers

• Pubcon: Pubcon is a long-running SEO and digital marketing conference that, like BrightonSEO, serves search marketing practitioners with educational talks and networking. It is a direct peer competing for the same attendee base.
• MozCon (Moz): MozCon is a flagship annual SEO conference run by Moz, one of the most recognized SEO software brands. It directly competes with BrightonSEO for the same practitioner audience and sponsor dollars in the search marketing conference category.
• Search Marketing Expo (SMX): SMX is Search Engine Land's long-running search marketing conference series covering SEO and PPC. It is one of the most established direct competitors to BrightonSEO in the global search marketing event category.

Others

• SaaStock: SaaStock is a major SaaS-focused conference that intersects with the in-house marketing team attendee segment BrightonSEO serves. It is thematically adjacent rather than directly competitive, as it focuses on SaaS growth rather than search marketing.

Regional players

• SEOktoberfest: SEOktoberfest is a German-based SEO conference with a similar practitioner-led, community-focused format. It is a regional peer in continental Europe, comparable in spirit but not in direct territory to BrightonSEO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brightonSEO
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCd5ImzajBK2cOcbj3PTHb6w
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brightonseo
• Instagraminstagram.com/brightonseo
• TikToktiktok.com/@brightonseo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BrightonSEO